


Can't Help Falling In Love

by Scout087



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fisto - Freeform, Mojave Wasteland (Fallout), Mutual Pining, New Vegas, POV Courier, POV Craig Boone, Post-Fallout: New Vegas, Revenge, Robots, Survival, positivity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:22:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22131736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scout087/pseuds/Scout087
Summary: All she wanted was some revenge. And maybe to hold down a job for more than a week. And to not be shot in the head. Well, the Mojave Wasteland sure does have a way of throwing curve balls at people. And so as she decides to follow the few leads she has to her wannabe killers, Six comes face-to-face with the largest challenge she had yet to face. A sniper with a chip on his shoulder and a snide attitude.----Life sucks for Boone. It always had, and it always would. For a brief moment he convinced himself he could be happy, but then that dream was stolen out from under the cover of darkness. The only thing that kept him from not eating a lead bullet was the tantalizing promise of revenge. But who was he kidding? He was one guy, and the Legion was insurmountable. That is until he manages to attract the attention of the biggest do-gooder in the wastes.----Not going to lie - I started this work because I wanted to keep reading some juicy, juicy fanfic for Fallout, but all of the good ones hadn't been finished yet. So this is my attempt at some romance within the radiation.
Relationships: Craig Boone/Female Courier
Kudos: 16





	1. Ain't That a Kick in the Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, outlining where we join Six in her adventures, and the kind of environment she is in. Let me know what you think!

The moon seemed to gleam with radiation as it steadily rose above the cemetery. Beneath the mostly dead trees and the rusting water tower stood a small group of individuals. Several of them were digging a small grave, barely fit for a pauper, as a man in a checkered suit looked on. He looked starkly out of place, dressed in such a way with the Mojave heat still festering in the air. His hair was greased back, and he stood apart from the others. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag as he stepped closer to a figure curled on the ground. 

A soft groan escaped her lips as she began to regain consciousness. A pounding headache threatened violence as she cracked her eyes open. She startles as her surroundings come into clarity, rough rope chafing at her wrists. 

“Guess who’s waking up over here?” One of the men around her nudged her leg with a steel-toed boot. Two of the hulking brutes stepped over and grabbed her under her arms, slamming her on her knees.

The one in a checkered suit stepped forward, taking another deep drag, “Time to cash out.”

“Would you get it over with?” One to her left snarled, revealing yellowed and rotting teeth. 

“Maybe you Khans kill people without looking them in the face, but I ain’t a fink, dig?” With that, he was in spitting distance to her. Her reached into an inner coat pocket and she stiffened when she saw the flashing chip in his hand. “You’ve made your last delivery, kid.” Clearly a showman, he puts it back in the pocket and pulls out a gun this time. “Sorry you got twisted up in this scene. From where you’re kneeling it must seem like an 18-carat run of bad luck. Truth is… the game was rigged from the start.” With that, he leveled the pistol at her forehead. There was a pop, a flash of light, and then….


	2. Waking Up

Death felt a lot like a spring mattress. Hell seemed to be her lot, thanks to the oppressive heat and the bright flashes of pain behind her eyelids.

“Vitals are stable…” There was some shuffling around her. “But that means nothin’ till you show some sign of existence.” _This doesn’t sound like hell_. “Anyone home?” _Goddamn it_ …

She cracked open one eye, then another. She was in a relatively clean house, outfitted with random medical equipment. This was a nice change for once. She swung up and planted her feet on the grungy carpet.

“Woah there! Take it easy.” An older man walked towards her. He was unarmed and had what her ma would have called a kind face. He plopped down on a rickety wooden chair next to the bed.

She rubbed her head, “What happened?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. Far as I can tell, you were shot in the noggin. Your pal Victor hauled you out of an early grave and brought you here to me. Just in the nick of time, too.”

“Victor… Wait, who are you?”

“Names Doc Mitchell. I’m the doctor of this town. What’s your name?”

“Uhm... “ There was a name, from before the bang. But that was before. “Six. My name is Six.”

“Well I’m not one to judge a person’s chosen name. Specially after what you’ve been through. Let’s see… How old are you?”

“Why? What does it matter?” She stiffened and folded her arms.

“Now, now. Don’t fly into a panic. I’m just trying to see how much damage that bullet did. Or how much damage I did rooting around in that noggin.”

“Oh.” That made sense. It seemed that the bullet made her more suspicious, and that was saying something. “Best as I know, I’m older than 25. Younger than 30” The Doc wrinkled his brow in concern. “That’s not from memory loss. I just haven’t ever been one to mark the years.”

Doc leaned back in his chair. “I can understand that. What brought you out this way?”

“I can’t remember.” Lie. She was supposed to be delivering a package to New Vegas. An easy job, just a simple platinum poker chip, albeit a bit bigger than the ones she was used to. It was her first go at being a courier. It seemed she couldn’t even hold down a simple delivery job.

He grunted, “Well let’s see if we can get you on your feet.” He held out his hands, which she carefully grasped. Her knees were wobbly, but otherwise it seemed like she had full motor control. After some rudimentary movement and strength tests, Doc Mitchell began with what he called ‘cognitive questionings’.

“Well far as I can tell, everything seems to be in order. I don’t see any reason to keep you here.” Doc reached into a beat-up wardrobe, pulling out a faded blue jumpsuit. He handed it to Six, “It used to be my wife’s. You seem to be about the same size as she was, and it isn’t doing anyone any good closed up here.” Six stared at the jumpsuit, then moved to give it back to Doc as he placed a 10mm pistol on the pile. “No, no. You need something to wear out there, and it’s better than nothin. Take this too.” He plopped a pip-boy on her forearm. “I don’t have any need for a gun nor my pip-boy.”

Six nodded, “Thank you, Doc.” She started to open the front door, then stopped. “Truly. I’m… not good with people, but I’m glad to have met you.”

Doc raised an eyebrow, “It’s been a pleasure, Six. Even with the circumstances we found ourselves in.”

“I’ll see you around, Doc.” She smiled, awkwardly, and then pushed the door open to Goodsprings.

The sun was so bright, and the air so dry. Six blinked in the bright light, and started down the steep pathway to the road.

“HOWDY PARTNER!”

“Agh! Who’s there?” Six whipped around, pistol in hand. She came face to face with a flickering screen of a cartoonish cowboy.

“Name’s Victor. Howdy do?” The cowboy image flickered, but remained relatively static in front of her eyes.

“Victor? You’re the one who saved me?” She was expecting some kind of lone wanderer of the wastes, not some cheerful robot on a wheel.

The robot buzzed, presumably pleased with itself, “Sure did, partner. I saw what went down before, and dug you out to see if you were still kickin. You were, so I dragged you down to the closest doctor in town.”

Six nodded, “Well, thank you for that. Well, I’ll see you around…” She started to walk away, then stopped and turned back to Victor. “Actually, did you happen to see the men who shot me?”

“I didn’t see too much, just them walking away from the Goodsprings Cemetery up yonder. Most of them looked like the average ruffian, but one was decked out in a fancy suit and had a city-folk look to him. That’s all though. Sorry I can’t be more help with that.”

“It’s okay, Victor. Thanks anyways.” Six turned and started to walk down the road to where she could see a couple of pack brahmin standing around what seemed to be a general store. Out of the buildings around town, there seemed to be only two buildings that saw repeated use. One looked like a general store, and the other like a bar. She reached for some caps, then groaned. _Jerks must have cleared me out_. Not that she had much to her name anyways. But it would have covered a much needed drink. She couldn’t go back to the Doc so soon - he only just saved her life and provided a weapon for her use. There really was no going around this, she needed to pay a visit to the guys who shot her, but to do that she needed caps. With a sigh, she pushed open the door to the bar, ready to ask some questions about work and any strangers that traveled around these parts recently.


	3. Big Iron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six enjoys a brisk walk through the Mojave Wasteland, meets a couple of new characters, and gets to attend target practice!
> 
> I'm going to try and name each chapter with song titles that are either confirmed to exist within the Fallout universe, or that is within the general genre of music that get's played. Each title will correspond with a general theme of each chapter, too.

Goodsprings was well behind her now. After doing a bit of scavenging, she was able to build up about 100 caps to her name and managed to run across some nicer armor, courtesy of a couple of powder gangers who tried to help themselves to a piece of Goodsprings. She was on her way to New Vegas, taking care to stick to the roads and keep her pistol handy. 

“Now that merchant said Primm was up ahead…” She could use a bath. Or a beer. Or hell, even some clean water would wash the dirt out of her mouth. Primm was actually where she first got her assignment for the chip, but everything looked different when traveling in the opposite direction. Occasionally there would be the hyper-aggressive gecko, but those were easy enough to handle. So long as she stuck to the road, that was. 

Six rounded a turn in the road, and sticking up above the Mojave dust was the landmark roller coaster of the town of Primm. She couldn’t help but smile and started jogging down the road, already envisioning how she would barter with the shopkeep to get a couple extra caps for the items she scavenged from abandoned houses along the road. She was starting to hop the median into Primm when something stopped her. It wasn’t so much that she saw anything to set off any concern. There was more of a feeling in the air, like the threat of violence was looming on the horizon. She slowly backed up, eyes skimming around the buildings - not a thing moved in town. 

A hand clamped down on her shoulder, “What are you -”

“AIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!” Six twisted and swung out a fist, catching an NCR trooper right on the jaw. “Oh shitohshitohshitohshit. I’m so sorry, you scared me!” 

The trooper was rubbing his jaw, glaring daggers at her, “Town is in lockdown right now. Powder gangers have set up shop and run out every trooper we’ve sent in.” 

Six shifted uncomfortably, “Ah, well I was hoping to catch up with someone in town.” 

The trooper looked like he would rather eat radscorpion poison than be talking with her right now. “It’s not my decision. You want in, you talk to the boss.” With that, he turned on his heel and marched back to his position stationed by the road. 

“I said I was sorry!” She called after him, then shrugged and started to make her way to the NCR flag hoisted up above the buildings on the other side of town. 

“Excuse me?” Six pocked her head through one of the tent flaps in the NCR camp. “Hello,” The two troopers straightened up from the map they were consulting. As she got closer, she could see that it was a map of Primm. “I was hoping to travel into Primm.”

“And why in God’s name would anyone want to do that right now?” The taller man straightened, speaking in a slow southern drawl. 

“I want to speak with some of the locals. Sell some goods.” 

He sniffed, “Well I ain’t in the habit of sending civs to their deaths, so unless you plan on clearing out those gang bangers I can’t let you in.” With that, he turned his back on her and went back to discussing the map. 

“I can clear them out of there.” He raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down. Granted, she probably didn’t look that impressive with her hair twisted in a bun and sweat stains marking her armor. “What would I get in return?”

“Other than getting yourself killed?” Six stuck out her chin stubbornly. After a moment, the trooper sighed, “How’s about 100 caps?”

“Make it 150, and you’ve got yourself a deal!” She moved to shake the trooper’s hand.

“Very well. You’ll find them primarily holed up in the big building on the outskirts of town. But be careful anyway. You never know where they may be hiding.”

Six nodded, then left the tent. She started to make her way across the bridge to town, then stopped when she saw the mines placed across the whole bridge. She sighed, then dropped down on her hands and knees to start disabling the mines. It was slow work, but it sure beats losing an arm or a leg if she made a wrong step. 

Primm was a ghost town, complete with a tumbleweed making its way down the main street. Six lowered herself to a crouch and kept to the edge of the buildings as she made her way forward. Up ahead, there was a man slouched against the wall of a building. Six moved to him, quickly checking for a pulse. Above his head was a spray of blood on the wall smeared behind him, “Shit.” He was dead, and she quickly pocketed his abandoned gun and extra ammo. She kept moving through the town.

“Shiiiiiiiit. Let’s just storm the fuckin’ building. Townies can’t put up much of a fight.”

“You heard Skeet! We ain’t making a move till that Deputy starts talkin.” There were two of them, Six noted as she peeked her head around the corner. She slowly, carefully unholstered her trusty pistol and levered it at the head of the shaved gang member. She exhaled softly and pulled the trigger. It cracked in her hands, and the bald one fell, dead. The other cursed and jumped to his feet, picking up a pool cue from the ground. “You should never have come here!” 

He swung, and Six dodged, feeling the rush of air as it passed just above her head. She squeezed off another round, catching him in the shoulder. He dropped and picked up his partner’s rifle. She dodged behind a pole, then leaned out to land another bullet between his eyes this time. The rifle clattered to the ground, and Six bent down to pick it up. After a quick skim of their pockets, she was plenty weighed down with some loot. 

She stopped at a pair of double doors. Above, the sign swung in the air, reading ‘Vicki and Vance Casino’. She carefully crouched and began to sneakily make her way into the casino, gun drawn.

“Why don’t you put that gun away, child.” An older man was standing in front of her, rifle pointed right at her forehead. She gulped, and slowly lowered her pistol. “Easy does it…” She popped it into her holster, then slowly rose up from her crouch. “What brings you round these parts?”

“Aahhhhh… Just passing through.” There were about half a dozen more occupants of the large room, including another robot, this with two arms and legs instead of a wheel. “I also might be here to help out with your gang problem.”

“What’s a little thing like you going to be able to do?”

“Other than get yerself killed,” chimed in an older woman behind him, also toting a rifle. 

“I may not look it, but I’m plenty good in a fight,” Six relaxed as they lowered their rifles as well. “I’ve also got something to sell if there’s anyone here that may be interested.”

“Name’s Johnson Nash,” The gentleman put out his hand, which Six shook. “I’m the closest thing to a general store round here. I’m also the acting head honcho currently, at least until we get our deputy back or a new sheriff.”

“What happened to your past sheriff?”

“You outta know, you’ve got his rifle on your back.” Six blushed, then moved to take it off, “No, no. It’ll do you more good than him now. He and Deputy Beagle left to run the powder gangers out of town. He got killed, and Beagle got captured. I reckon we’ve got about 3 days of food left before we start to starve now.” 

“I can try to get your deputy back.” Six set her bag on the ground, “But I’ll need something in return.”

“And what would that be?” She smiled and started to unzip her bag.

After selling as much as she could - except the rifles and pistol - Six began to make her way out to the Bison Hotel - or what was left of it. She slowly eased the door open, newly repaired rifle out and ready to fire. The door opened into a small welcome room, and straight ahead was the opening to a hallway that seemed to continue to the right. A shape moved in the darkened hallway, and over the sights of her rifle, she saw a woman sitting on a bench. The woman was dressed as a powder ganger, and so Six squeezed the trigger. The rifle barked out, and the woman slumped in her seat, dead. 

“The fuck was that?” Another powder ganger rushed over to the woman, then turned to stare straight at Six. He reached into his pocket to grab a gun, but Six was faster. She turned the barrel to him and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet right through his neck. Blood spurted out from the wound, bathing the wall and floor in dark red. He fell to the floor, and Six waited for another to appear. After counting to 60, she began to move forward into the hallway. There was another gang member pacing up ahead within the larger lobby. She tracked his movements for a moment, and when he stopped briefly at the soda machine, she took her shot. It ricocheted from the soda machine and struck the wall. The powder ganger turned and ran at her, swinging a lead pipe. It hit her arm and the rifle went flying. Six stepped back, bringing up her empty fists. The powder ganger made another wild swing at her head, and she ducked under his arm, tackling him to the ground. On the side of the man’s waist was a combat knife. Six grabbed at the knife, raising it above her head and bringing it down rapidly on the man’s chest. The knife stuck out, and Six inched back from the body. She pulled out her pistol, sweeping the area to see if the commotion had brought anyone running. Thankfully, it hadn’t. 

Six collected her rifle and went through the pockets of the fallen gang members. Next, she straightened and considered her options. She could go through the clear opening into the next area, or through a side door. She jiggled the handle of the side door, finding it locked. Crouching, she dug around in her pockets for her screwdriver and bobby pins. Meticulously, she began to work at the lock, finally unlocking it with a click. Six let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and slowly pushed the door open. Another as at the end of the hallway. A carefully aimed bullet struck him in the chest. Why bother wearing armor if you aren’t going to wear it on your chest? Six thought as she rummaged through the pockets of the shirtless man and pocketed his gun. 

With this hallway ending in a pile of rubble, Six turned back to where another section branched off. At the end of the next hallway was a kitchen, along with another powder ganger inside. How many of these assholes are there? 

She leveled her rifle again and aimed it at the powder ganger. 3...2...1… The body fell, and with no investigators of the sound, Six continued on down to the kitchen. To the right was a dining hall, with two more powder gangers talking and eating inside it. The dining room was a mess, rusted cans and even a dumpster fire in the middle of the room. To the left, within the kitchen, sat a kneeling and tied up man. 

“You must be Deputy Beagle,” Six whispered to the man as she approached cautiously. The powder gangers didn’t seem to notice, and so she crouched behind the counter. 

“The one and only. I must say, I’ve never had the pleasure of being rescued by a young lady such as yourself.” His eyes, wild with panic, undercut the flirtatious words. 

“Right. Well, how many are there left?” Beagle shrugged. “Think we can take them?” Six peered again over the edge of the counter, eyeballing the weapons they were sporting. They were all typically standard weapons, but one was oversized and had a tube leading to a pack filled with ammo strapped to the powder gangers’ back. He looked more capable than the previous ones. Well hello, Skeet. Six shifted her attention back to Beagle as he shifted uncomfortably. 

“Well, I was hoping you’d actually take care of the rest of them.” Six stared at him, not fully understanding what he was suggesting. He gulped, then continued. “You know, while I cover the entrance and check in on the townsfolk.” 

“Are you serious?” Six slowly shook her head. “No, you are going to cover me while we clear out the rest in this building!” 

Beagle nodded, “Of course, of course. Now untie me.” 

Six huffed out of her nose, “If I cut you loose, you’ll take off!” Beagle shook his head. Her options were to either keep him tied up - and risk him getting shot - or letting him go running with his tail between his legs. Or he will actually stay to cover me. Six always liked to think the best of people, which in most recent memory led to her getting shot. She bent over and started to saw away at his bonds. 

“Great, thank you thank you.” She finished his bonds and he rubbed his wrists. “Okay, now you take them from this side, I’ll get them from the back!” With that, he jumped up and started running down the hallway away from the fight. 

“Woah, Wait!” Six shout-whispered. She watched his fleeing back move away, then sighed. From behind the counter, she leveled her rifle to aim at the back of the head of one sitting at a table. She took a smooth breath in, then pulled the trigger on her exhale. Blood splattered as the woman fell forward in her seat, face missing entirely. 

Her companion jumped to his feet snarling and swinging around to face Six. “You’re dead!” He pointed the large gun at her, and before she knew it, flames were surrounding her. She dove and rolled to the side, jumping up from the corner of the kitchen. The heat from the flames scorched her skin, and she fired blindly around the corner. Another whuff of sound occurred, and she flinched as the wall behind her was struck with flames. She let out her breath in a whoosh and ran out from her cover, pausing to shoot at the man with the flamer. Her rifle cracked twice, but the man still was standing. He pumped the flamer again, and she dove out of the way, rifle dropping to the ground in her haste. She scrambled around the various tables and chairs piled around the dining room. She yanked on her 10mm as she crawled, finally getting it free as another whuff announced the shot. She ducked, but the bundle of chairs and tables to her left were the ones to be drowned in flames. Six sent up another prayer to whatever may be listening, then jumped from her cover, firing rapidly at the man. POP POP. He dropped the flamer - hands coated in blood, then moved to pick it up again. 

As he bent down, Six ran forward, firing continuously at him. POP POP POP POP POP. With each shot, the powder ganger was rocked back on his heels. He staggered back, again and again. Finally, Six was in arm’s reach, but he was still standing. She pressed the pistol right to his forehead, and he gave a bloody grin. “I’ll tear out your insides and feed em to you.”

Six cocked her head to the side, “I don’t think so.” She pulled the trigger and blood splattered across her cheek as the body fell to the ground. 

After quickly searching through the remaining bodies, she pocketed what little they had that was of value - and not covered in something sticky. 

Six pushed open the front doors wide and startled at the morning sun. She hadn’t realized how long she had been there! It was then that a wave of exhaustion hit her, and she began to trudge her way back to the Vicki and Vance casino. 


	4. Stars of the Midnight Range

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six enjoys some well-earned company. 
> 
> \------  
> So this is a shorter chapter, but it's a good bit of world-building for my variation of Fallout NV. It should also help you get a better idea of the kind of woman Six is.

Nash pulled his hat down lower as he stared about the town. “We really owe you one, kiddo.” 

Six shifted and tugged on a loose string in her jumpsuit. “Well… I’m sure someone would’ve come along and fixed it all up for you. ‘S not a big deal.” She finished, mumbling under her breath. 

“Now, now. You walk around the wastes with that kinda attitude, someone might take advantage of you.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then started walking to his shop. “Now, I don’t take kindly to the feeling of owing anyone anything, so how’s about you take a look around my shop and pick up something for yourself.” She followed him into the shop and began browsing the materials and items laying around. She thumbed through a couple of magazines and was browsing through the pre-war books when a pile of rust and metal caught her eye. She stood up and approached the counter, running her hand along the antenna wire at the top of the ball. 

“That there’s ED-E.” Six jumped. She suddenly felt like she had just gotten caught stealing. “‘Fraid he’s been broken for a while now. I’ve tried every trick in the book, but I just can’t seem to get him running.” Six frowned and poked at the hull of the casing, opening a small access panel on the side of the robot. 

“Every trick in the book…” She muttered, taping her lips in thought. “Ah!” Of course!” She jogged back over to the pile of magazines on the floor. She squatted down and began rifling through them again. Finally, she found one that seemed to be the most helpful. It was an addition of  _ Dean’s Electronics _ . After a quick skim of the table of contents, she found the article that was most relevant and flipped to that page. After trying and failing to understand that article, she went back to the TOC and found the next more relevant article that she could actually understand. 

> _ Hey kids!  _
> 
> _ So you are wanting to build your own Nuka-Cola brand helper bot! Well after getting your nifty hands on some certified Nuka-Cola helper bot parts, you can follow this comprehensive guide to build the snazziest bot in school… _

After reading through it a few times, and a little adaptation of the article itself to match the eyebot in front of her, she was confident she could get the robot up and running. Or at least not electrocute herself while trying. 

“Think she knows what she’s doing?” Ruby Johnson crossed her arms while keeping a safe distance from the counter. 

“One can only hope… But I’ve got a feeling that she can do just about anythin’ she puts her mind to.” Johnson tapped the coyote chew down into his pipe and lit it. He took a deep puff as Ruby continued. 

“Don’t go telling the girl that. She just might try to do something utterly crazy that’ll get herself killed. Like taking on the whole damn Legion.” Their musings were halted as the eyebot started jolting and lifted from the ground. It beeped chaotically as it buzzed around the room, finally settling at Six’s eye level. 

“Well I’ll be…” Nash carefully stepped forward. 

“Yeah, I should have figured that the conductor belt was busted from the beginning!” Six babbled as she brushed an oil-covered hand across her forehead, smearing it with oil. 

“I suppose you should take it with you, child.” Ruby stepped forward as well and linked with her husband’s arm. “Don’t go leavin’ that thing here. I got no use for it.”

“Are you sure? It is yours, after all.” Six scrubbed at her forehead, trying and failing to wipe off the black grease. 

“Sure as a gecko bites.” 

“Very well. Thank you kindly.” She shifted from foot to foot. “I suppose I should get going, then.”

The Johnson’s followed her and ED-E out into the town. “Take care of yourself. If you ever find the need of a safe bed and a trading post, come on by.” Nash tipped his hat at Six. 

“And if you ever happen to be in the neighborhood and have on yourself a coupla radscorpion poison glands, you should swing on by. I make a mean casserole.” Ruby smiled at Six, who nodded in return. She gave a quick wave, then turned to continue her journey to New Vegas. The eyebot beeped and buzzed, then rotated in the air to follow along a few steps behind her. The Johnson’s were watching as she rounding the bend, disappearing from their sight. 


	5. Orange Colored Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay... Ya know, 2020 happened...
> 
> Boone is finally introduced to the story, and our two characters cross paths finally.

The sun was setting as Boone trudged up the 35 uneven steps up to the mouth of the puke-green dino. He knocked on the door once, then opened it up before Vargas gave his approval. 

“It’s been a calm day. Only a few radscorpions wandering through. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Boone grunted. Manny Vargas paused for a moment. His jaw was working and he looked to be mulling something over. Boone turned to face out in the Mojave desert. He crossed his arms and waited for Vargas to leave. After a moment, he heard the slow plodding of steps down to the gift store below. Boone already knew what Manny wanted to say, but he didn’t need to hear it. He wasn’t in the mood for a therapy session, and he certainly was not in the mood for any half-baked apologies. All he wanted nowadays was to take his shift, stare out into nothing until his eyes bleed, and then drink himself into oblivion. Rinse and repeat. 

He settled his rifle on the ledge. Boone never was a talker, but especially not now. Especially not with any of the sorry lots from this hole in the wall. He didn’t like doing much but staring down the length of his rifle and hoping for a Legionary to wander by. Just like Vargas had said, it was a typical evening in the Wasteland. Even Boone’s shrewd eyes couldn’t pick up on any funny business. One by one, the stars appeared overhead. Until far into the distance, along a road seldom traveled anymore since the Raiders and Legion began hassling caravans, he began to make out a shape. Boone watched through the scope as it got closer and closer. 

He was also careful to not focus entirely on the figure. He could recall from similar missions when an enemy sent a red herring up ahead and then the majority of the force snuck up from behind. However, Boone couldn’t see any signs of another force creeping up. Other than a floating eye bot, this character seemed to be entirely alone. 

Nonetheless, he watched as they got closer, enough so he could begin to make out the lay of their jacket, how heavy their bag was, whether they were human, the sway of her hips… 

_ Holy fuck, stop. _ Boone shook himself and took a moment to recenter himself. He needed to be uncompromising in his analysis, but that didn’t mean ogling every female who passed through here. With a breath, he hunched back over his rifle and refocused on the woman who was approaching. He could now make out more details about her. Approximately 5’5”, sturdy build. She was either deeply tan or was darker than most people in this town. He tapped the side of his gun stock as she walked closer. She was limping, he could tell that much.

Suddenly the robot flared to life and blared a noise even he could hear. He moved his scope and noticed a raider charging her with a tire iron. He settled his aim on his head and as he began to pull the trigger, she spun and round-house kicked the raider in the chest. The attacker stumbled and fell to the side. Before he could blink, she whipped out a 10mm and shot him point-blank in the chest. Boone watched curiously as she rifled through the man’s pockets and stripped him of his armor. She got up and began walking, stuffing her pockets with a collection of xander root. 

It was at that moment that Boone spotted movement in the brush to her left. He narrowed his vision as he looked closer in that area. A raider lurched from the brush, pulling out an improvised grenade from his pocket. 

A loud crack echoed across the wasteland. She whirled around and the raider fell back, grenade rolling away from his dead body. Boone noted she didn’t dive for cover. Instead, she stood still and looked around slowly. He watched as she eyed the body, then as she shifted to look up towards the hill. He watched through the scope, noting how her eyes roved, and then settled.

_ That’s not possible. _ He was well hidden in the dinosaur, probably little more than a dark shadow within a dark shadow. 

Yet even as she began moving again, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she had stared right into his eyes.


End file.
